1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to home networking. More specifically, the present invention relates to an adaptive audio/video stream proxy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally video delivery into the home has consisted of broadcasts delivered over airwaves, through cable, and through satellite transmissions. More recently, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) has enabled delivery of video over managed broadband connections, including digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modem systems. In the managed broadband environment, there is a need to place a set-top box or other device to handle the management tasks at or near the television.
More recently, however, it has become more common for mobile subscribers of providers to be served from unmanaged broadband connections while at home. The most common of these unmanaged broadband connections have been in smartphones communicating over EDGE, 3G, or 4G networks. Other devices, such as tablet computers, as well as other newer hardware devices, however, may also need to deal with such unmanaged broadband connections. Converged service providers with large mobile subscription base now have an opportunity to extend service offers into the homes of their mobile subscribers with smartphones and tablet computers, connected TVs and new devices dealing effectively with these unmanaged broadband connections. Since these providers may have hundreds of millions of mobile device subscriptions, but their penetration into the managed broadband connection market may be much more severely limited, on the order of a million or even less managed broadband connections. As such, it would be beneficial to these providers to be able to offer services such as video delivery to televisions in the home through the unmanaged broadband connections, as the number of customers who possibly would switch to such video delivery services are much more plentiful than those who merely subscribe to premium quality of service managed broadband connections.
Furthermore, televisions and set-top boxes are highly cost sensitive devices that require high volumes of sales in order to be profitable. It would therefore be beneficial to have a solution that allows for converged video services delivery via unmanaged broadband connections using the televisions and other devices already deployed in the home, as opposed needing to penetrate the consumer market with another TV or set top box device.